Truss.



T. E. MARTIN.

TRUSS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1909.

Patented May 17, 1910.

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T. E. MARTIN.

TEUSS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1909.

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. sertion and removal of 'a THOMAS E. MARTIN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK,ASSIGNOR TO FLORA A. M. MARTIN, 0F

' BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

TRUSS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1'7, 1911(1 Application filed May 12,1909. Serial No.495,465.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. MARTIN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Buffalo, county of Erie, State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trusses, of whichthe following is a full and clear specification, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective viewshowing my invention applied to a double truss; Fig. 2 is a plan view,showing the padded connection in horizontal section; Fig. 3 is avertical central section through the padded connecting piece; Fig. 4 isa detail perspective showing the preferred manner of connecting thebody-arm to the pad; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form ofconmeeting piece especially adapted for umbilical ruptures; Fig. 6 is aperspective view showing the, invention applied to a sin le truss; and,Fig. 7 is a perspective view 0 a double truss especially adapted for thesmaller sizes.

The object of this invention is to adapt the truss for use in thetreatment of all kinds of hernia as well as floating kidney and also asa laporotomy and abdominal support, and at the same time secure to thewearer the greatest possible degree of safety and comfort by soconstructing the device that it is susceptible of being adjusted soperfectly to the figure of the particular individual and to eachcomplaint that the wearer shall be permitted the utmost freedom ofmovement and exertion without disarranging or dislodging the apparatus,as more fully hereinafter set forth.

eferrin to the drawings by reference esi ates the body-arms, which arebowed su stantially as shown in my former Patent N 0. 862,387, datedAugust 6, 1907, and which are each provided with a pad 6 at its freeend. The other ends of the arms are connected by a pad appliance whlchmay be of any suitable sort but which usually consists, as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 3, of a flat piece material, having suitable pad. padconsists of a piece a of soft leather piece calong all its edges exceptthe top edge which is left open for inpiece of felt or 6. This cushionaflixed to its inner face a other cushioning material 0 of stiffleather, or other In the present instance this The connection of thearms to the connecting plate 0 is peculiar and in this peculiarconnection lies the gist of the present invention. The end of each armis preferably flattened and slightly curved outwardly and provided witha short slot 9, and this slotted end is engaged over a hook it fastenedto the outer face of the plate 0 at a point below the middle thereof.This hook may be any suitable shape but I find that an ordinary lacingstud is satisfactory since, by reason of the slot in the arm, the armmay be readily attached to and detachedfrom the plate by relativelyrotating them a quarter turn from the normal or operative position. Thislacing hook is also desirable as afl'ording a simple and securefastening and at the same time affording a free relative and independenttilting of the arms and the connecting pad appliance. This connection ofeach arm to the pad is in reality a universal joint since the arms arefree to swing relatively to the pad in all directions within a limitedradius, this radius being determined by the outer face of the pad andthe flexible loops 2' of the lacing, through which the arms pass. Theseflexible loops z' are desirable because while they act as keepers inrestricting the field of action of the arms they do not restrict theirfreedom of movement in the least within that field; and they are furtherdesirable in that they are readily adjust-able as to length by simplydrawing up or letting out the lacing, this adjustability as to lengthbeing desirable in that it assist-s in adjusting the truss to thewearers body to a perfect fit.

I prefer that the arms shall be permanently bendable and that theconnecting pad appliance shall be stiff but flexible, as in my formerpatent, in order that the arm may be bent to fit the wearer and tolocate the pads at the proper points on the back andthe abdomen and-inorder that theconnection may be flexed in putting on and taking off thetruss. In the present appliance, however, the connecting part need notbe flexed to so great a degree, if-at all, in view of the capability ofthe arms to tilt a con.

siderable distance away from the outer face of the connecting piece.This is a highly desirable result as it tends to avoid permanent flexureof the connecting piece, as is Obvious.

The most important result of connecting the arms in the manner describedis that while the truss is on, the arms have a free as well asindependent tilting movement inwardly and downwardly without shiftingthe pad from the located points of pressure, whereby the armsmay beclosely adjusted to the sides of the body without causing them to pressupon the body and at the same time permitting an automatic adjustment tothe changing positions of the body incident to the variety ofoccupations in which men are engaged. This construction thus preventspressure on any part of the body save directly under the pads, and thusreduces the discomfort of truss wearing to a minimum, while attainingthe maximum of safety, as the desired results are secured by the leastpossible pressure and the appliance is prevented from being forced fromits proper position on the body by the most violent exercise.

The idea of attaching the arms to the pad at a point below its middlehas the advantage that the necessary degree of rocking action forwardlyand backwardly between the arms and the pad is secured, this being;

peculiarly desirable where the appliance is used for umbilical hernia,prolapsus of the abdomen or otherailment where the connecting pad bearsupon the fleshy part of the abdomen since in that use the capacity inthe pad to rock independently permits an automatic adjustment, thusproducing an even pressure of all parts of the pad upon the body in anyand all possible positions.

I have shown in Fig. 1 a supplemental pair ofstuds h which may be usedtoadjust the arms for a larger waist or for the attachment of asupplemental arm for use when it 1s necessary or desirable to providetwo pads on the same side of the abdomen one above the other.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a truss especially desirable for umbilicalhernia. In this device the soft or flexible pad is replaced by a plateof substantially rigid material but may be replaced by any kind of padsuitable to thecase, fastened to the connecting piece, and the lacingloops by adjustable leather-strap loops i. p

In Fig. 6 the invention is shown ada ted to a single truss, the armbeing confine to the single pad appliance c by a strap or other loop 7;riveted or otherwise fastened to said part 0, and the usual body strap jbeing employed.

In Fig. 7 is illustrated a type I prefer employing in the smaller sizesof truss; in this form the connecting piece is provided with a softleather pocket is closed by a lacrespect to each other.

ing f which restricts the tilting of the arms, and the ends of the armsare bent to form open-ended hooks Z for ready attachment and detachment.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a truss, a body-arm carrying a padappliance at each end,theconnect-ion with one of the pads being a loose universal onepermitting the arm to tilt freely backwardly and upwardly and downwardlywhile on the body, and a keeper on the pad above the pivotal point tolimit the extent of free movement of the arm. c

2. In a truss, a body-arm carrying a padappliance at each end, theconnection with one of the pads being a loose universal one permittingthe arm to tilt freely backwardly, and upwardly and downwardly whilebeing 'woru, and a keeper on the pad above the pivotal point to limitthe extent of free movement of the arm, saidpivotal point of connectionbeing below the middle of the pad-appliance;

3. In a truss, a pair of curved body-arms each carrying a pad at oneend, a connecting pad-appliance at the'other end, the connection betweenthe arms and this pad-appliance being a free universal one to permit thearms to have free backward up and down tilting action while in use, andmeans for limiting the outward play of the arms with 4. In a truss, apair of curved body-arms each carrying a pad at one end, a connectingpad-appliance at the other end, the connection between the arms and thispad-appliance being a free pivotal one to permit the arms to have freeup and down tilting action, and means on the pad-appliance forrestricting the play of the arms with respect to the pad-appliance, saidmeans being adjustable and flexible.

5. In a truss, a pair of body-arms,a padappliance connecting their ends,the connection between the appliance and each arm being substantially afree or loose universal joint and being on the outer face of theappliance, and a keeper for each arm on the pad appliance above saidjoint, .whereby while in use on the body each arm has a freeindependentuniversal movement with respect to the pad-appliance within apredetermined radius.

6. In a truss, a pair of body-arms, a padappliance connecting theirends, the connection between the appliance and each arm beingsubstantially a free or loose universal joint and being on the outerface of the appliance, and a keeper for each arm on the padapplianceabove said joint, whereby while in use on the body each arm has a freeindependent universal movement with respect to the pad-appliance withina predetermined radius, the points of connection to the pad-appliancebeing at a point below its middle.

7. In a truss, a pair of body-arms each carrying a pad at one end, aconnecting padappliance at the other end, the connections between eacharm and the pad appliance being a free pivotal one to permit the arm tohave a free up and down tilting action while in use, and means forlimiting the play of the arms with respect ,to each other, said meansconsisting of a flexible and ad justable lacing string laced throughopenings in the pad appliance and formed into loops through which latterthe body arms extend, for the purpose set forth.

8. In a truss, a body arm carrying a padappliance at each end, theconnection with one of the pads being a loose universal pivotal one,permitting 'the arm to tilt freely, and the outer or middle portion ofthe body arm to move on the line of the arc of a circle, away from ortoward the perpendicular of the line of attachment, with means oflimiting the outward movement at any desired angle, and means connectingthe upper part of the back pad to the abdominal pad.

9. In a truss, a pair of curved body arms, each carrying a pad at oneend, a connecting pad-appliance at the other end, the connection betweenthe arms and this pad-appliance being a free pivotal universal one, topermit the arms to have free tilting action, permitting the outward ormiddle portion of the bowed arms to move on the line of the arc of acircle, away from or toward the perpendicular of their respective linesof attachment, with means for limiting the outward movement to anydesired angle.

In testimony whereof I hereunto atfix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses this'7th day of May 1909..

THOMAS E. MARTIN.

